Pre-Mortem It Before You Launch It
A playful, Futures thinking workshop to stress-test your product, service or offer
Pre-Mortem It Before You Launch It
A playful, critical-thinking workshop to stress-test your product, service or offer
What if you could discover what might go wrong — before it actually does?
Imagine your product, service, business idea or new offering has already launched.
And it failed. Spectacularly.
Customers didn’t show up. The value proposition didn’t land. The market moved in an unexpected direction. Something you thought was a minor risk became the thing that derailed everything.
Now, let’s work backwards.
In this playful yet critical-thinking workshop, we’ll use an imagined future failure to explore what went wrong, why it happened, and — most importantly — why it wasn’t anticipated or addressed earlier.
Whether you’re still in ideation, preparing to launch, or already have an offering in the market, this is a chance to pressure-test your thinking and surface:
🔍 Blind spots you may be overlooking
⚠️ Risks & vulnerabilities that are easy to dismiss
🤐 Uncomfortable truths you may not be asking about
🧩 Assumptions your offering is quietly depending on
💡 Things you could change or prepare for now
This isn't about predicting failure.
It’s about imagining failure deliberately so you can prepare for it intelligently.
And yes, this is a legitimate method inspired by futures thinking and popularised in its current form by psychologist Gary Klein, used to help teams identify potential problems before they happen.
But you won’t be doing this in isolation.
You’ll also get to listen to other people’s pre-mortem reports, challenge their assumptions, and see what others notice that you might have missed in your own offering. Sometimes another person’s perspective can reveal the blind spot you’ve been too close to see.
Come ready to imagine the worst, question your assumptions, face some very, very uncomfortable truths — and leave with an applicable plan for what you can change, strengthen or prepare for now.
Expect it to be light, playful and simultaneously thought-provoking — with plenty of room for curiosity, honest perspectives and a few “oh shit, I hadn’t thought of that” moments. 😄
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